Best Old Bands Volume II: Our House - Tribute to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
A continuing series on some of the Twin Cities' most lasting artists and architects
Photo: Michael Hardwick
House Mates: Brianna Tagg-Jorgensen, Mark O’Day, Xenia, Kurt Jorgensen, Craig Paquette, Fred Anderson
The Family Vibes of Our House
A local supergroup with members from New Sun Union, The Jorgensens, Thunderheads -- plus the amazing Xenia -- are not helpless in a sincere tribute to the folk-rock harmony superstars, and their beloved muse Joni Mitchell.
By Jim Meyer, February 7, 2025
For whatever reason, tribute bands are clearly having a moment in local music. How long the moment lasts remains to be seen. Some are just for fun or fast bucks, and it’s a sly way to network with other players and their followers, often for bigger crowds that might draw attention back to the original groups.
But if you dare tackle a tribute to Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, there are no shortcuts. All four of the original stars – David, Stephen, Graham, and Neil -- are Hall-of-Fame songwriters, strong lead singers capable of a sparkling harmony blend, also known for the uncommon tunings on their rich guitar tapestries. Their combination of gentle lyrical power and some bold outspokenness reshaped AM and FM radio and the entire record industry once other male vocal groups followed in the ‘70s.
Twin Cities six-piece Our House is a concert-scale tribute to the foursome that brought small-group soul into the stadiums. With members from St. Paul and the east burbs and from south Minneapolis to the west, they’ve taken up the immense musical challenge while having serious fun in the process.
Preferring to play mostly showcase venues such as Crooners, Medina Entertainment Center, Brianno’s Chart House or the Hook and Ladder, they’re taking their biggest step yet with a ticketed concert at Fitzgerald Theater February 22, playing before Free Fallin (Tom Petty), with a special opening cameo by their built-in Joni Mitchell homage Taming the Tiger by Brianna Tagg-Jorgensen.
CSN Why?
When you descend the stairway to Kurt Jorgensen’s recording and rehearsal studio, your eyes can’t miss two framed set lists from David Crosby’s 2017 concert at Ames Center in Burnsville. Glancing at the array of guitars and equipment in the room, it feels like entering an underground altar of sorts. ``I’ve gone between being a David Crosby obsessive to a Stephen Stills obsessive, and back again,’’ says Jorgensen. ``CSNY or any variation of the four of them is the first music I felt I could somewhat naturally play. I don’t think I could do a tribute to music I didn’t feel a deep connection about.’’
Listening back to the 1994 debut by Jorgensen’s breakout band New Sun Union, the spirit of Stephen Stills and CSNY is definitely present, if not overt. Jorgensen fronted the popular neo-soul band with Stillwater High School pal Fred Anderson, now an Our House multi-instrumentalist and the vocal arranger.
"Crosby, Stills & Nash was one of the first concerts I ever went to, 1984 at the old Minneapolis Auditorium,’’ Anderson recalls, with a ticket stub to prove it. ``I’ve probably seen them in different configurations a dozen times. Long ago, Kurt and I learned `Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ for a memorial and their music’s been with us since.’’
The folklore around CSN is that the original trio happened almost magically, as their various hit groups – the Byrds, the Hollies, and Buffalo Springfield -- were imploding. The founding members knew within about three minutes of casual jamming and harmonizing they had something special. Our House took more like three decades, but hanging out with a group of them or chatting individually, you can feel a similar surge of electricity and ecstaticity about finding each other . . . eventually.
Long Time Gone
After the ``all-in’’ grind of touring, promoting and recording in New Sun Union, Anderson stepped away from full-time music performance to focus on family and new careers. But his straight jobs actually expanded his musical skill and value to the group. A move into the IT field advanced his digital production prowess. Then he used his musical passion to snare a fortuitous gig as a music-book transcriptionist for major publishers. Record companies would send hit CDs of everything from Counting Crows to Guns N’ Roses; he’d do granular deconstructions for the notations. Current band members give Anderson credit for turning Our House into a vocal powerhouse, known for sending the members layers of musical text messages with the isolated vocal lines, in search of the perfect waves.
``I’ve heard people sing these songs in a stock three-part harmony, and that’s OK, but it sounds more like the Eagles. It just won’t have that magical quality they had, mainly because of David Crosby,’’ says Jorgensen, who formed the group shortly before Croz died in early 2023. ``As far as a lead or harmony singer, his unusual note choices are a huge part of why CSN’s harmonies sound different than other groups.’’
Kurt and Fred’s decades of experience and connections on the local scenes made finding musicians somewhat easy, but they were choosy. Craig Paquette is known as co-leader of the twin-guitar, neo-classic original band Thunderheads. Back in the ‘90s, New Sun Union shared many bills with Craig’s former group Broken Harbor.
“I liked [New Sun Union] a lot way back then,’’ says Paquette. ‘‘We both opened for [Grateful Dead keyboardist] Merl Saunders at First Avenue and we played a lot of other shows together. So when Kurt called to ask if I was interested, I said yes right away, but he didn’t tell me what the idea was’’ laughs Paquette.
Fortunately, Craig was agreeing to a CSNY rework. Anyone whose heard the note-perfect version of “Don’t Let it Bring You Down’’ on his 2019 solo debut Won’t Last Forever knows that although there are many Neil Young tributes in town, there’s one Neil vocalist above all.
Hanging out with the members at their studio for a meet-and-greet and interview, Jorgensen recalled the impression Paquette made years ago at the old Five Corners Saloon on West Bank. Kurt and Fred went to support their friend Steve Blexrud (now in Thunderheads) but made a mental and musical note when another vocalist stepped up to the mic. ``At some point you sang ``Midnight on the Bay’’ [from the Stills/Young album Long May You Run]. I told Fred, `Holy sh . . . he’s amazing. I wonder what’s up with him?’ But we couldn’t just poach him from our friend’s band, and we didn’t have an opening anyway.’ But 30 years later . . . finally!’’ as they laugh at their long-awaited luck.
Having raised kids and now working more part-time, Paquette’s in high demand for studio sessions or live sets as either a guest, or in the Thunderheads full band or duo, or his new solo project. With some extra time to devote to music, he’s having the best time of his long local career, keenly jazzed about joining a revival of one his all-time favorites, if the severe ring wear on his original copy of 4 Way Street is any indication. ``People say I sound like Neil, without sounding like I’m trying to sound like him.’’
Paquette’s known more for his guitar prowess, which means there’s four strummers in the group. But Our House doesn’t have a team of roadies to re-tune for the stars between songs, so their stage glistens with racks of axes in many varied scales, ready to deploy. Along with other members, Paquette handles some of the Graham Nash vocal parts. The fact that the original Graham has grown out a full head of white hair like Craig is just a coincidence. Probably.
The Family Vibe of Our House
The original three knew they’d eventually need a rhythm section, but Our House was not one of those fast-money knock-offs. They kept the project a secret while they worked more than a year on a solid vocal and guitar foundation. ``We knew we really we had to get those harmonies right or it was just gonna flop,’’ says Paquette.
The original CSNY had at least two false starts with bassists before settling on Calvin Samuel. Our House had it easier. Xenia Sandstrom-McGuire was a Como neighbor of Kurt’s. The two were Facebook friends with no direct musical history, but he noticed that, independently, she kept posting about CSNY or Neil Young. Feeling that a devotion to the source material was as essential as raw skill, he took a gamble inviting her over unheard and hit local-musician Lotto.
The mononymous local-music celeb Xenia (ZEN’-ya) is an academic, ethno-musical and artistic rock star, a fanatic for modern British and American folk, an accomplished chorale arranger, and recently proficient on bouzouki and a custom long-scale cittern made by local luthier Tim Reede. Until recently she was an adjunct instructor at Augsburg, where her bio still lists her main musical passions as ``Guillaume de Machaut, Josquin des Prez, Vincenzo Galilei, Franz Josef Haydn, Charles Ives, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Yoko Ono, Rob Fetters [of Adrian Belew and the Bears], and Neil Young.’’
You may have seen her decades ago in prog trio Nero’s House Band or pop-rockers Green Pyramids, or more recently in the reunited glam and goth metal legends Morticia. These days, she’s known as a quick-study super sub for bands in need, or for semi-serious special projects.
Jorgensen happened to call at a time when Xenia was coming out of a long performing break after the death of her wife of 26 years, but just as she was ready to pop out again. ``It was not only a chance to put my 4-part harmony singing ELCA Lutheran skills to work, but every song in the repertoire has a killer bass line regardless of who was playing, so it really is the perfect meeting of what I love in music.’’
``She fit right in,’’ says Paquette, who’s added her to his own band at times. ``She knew the songs without chord sheets and had constructive ideas without being uptight about it. Just a great addition from the start.’’ Drummer Mark O’Day of the Jorgensens large band was a natural choice for the group, and had played with Xenia years ago. Finally, the group was complete. Almost.
It was soon evident that some keyboards would be needed, and Fred’s forensics uncovered even a fifth layer of vocal harmony at times. The choice was easy; Kurt’s multi-talented wife Brianna could overhear it all from just upstairs. The Lino Lakes native is a veteran of her own small groups and variety bands around the metro, and brings a wealth of stage experience. Ten years ago she enlisted Kurt to produce her solo album. That project grew into a romantic engagement and marriage for the pair.
Now the two singer-songwriters are raising their son, William, but they also nurture an eight-piece horn band The Jorgensens. ``I was actually looking forward to having some nights in alone while Kurt played out,’’ recalls Brianna, ``But I took Willie to the first show and I just thought, ``Holy sh. . . . . They are so good.’’
She wasn’t going to invite herself into the House, but was soon welcomed anyway. ``For the bulk of the show, I’m not on lead so I get to sit back and tune into the crowd a little more. So when I see audience members crying. . .it’s powerful stuff.’’
Lately, Brianna’s taken on a larger role in the enterprise, as their built-in tribute to Joni Mitchell. Mitchell’s and Nash’s house at 8217 Lookout Mountain in Laurel Canyon inspired the group’s titular song. At the Fitz, she’ll do a brief opening set of Joni songs and reappear with the full band.
Paquette recalls Brianna’s auspicious debut at the Freight House in Stillwater. ``The place was packed, with a lot of chatter going on, but you came on and people were dead silent.’’ Xenia felt the same about Brianna in our private chat a few days later. ``The big star is Brianna. If you’ve never seen her, you’re in for a treat!’’
Love the Ones You’re With
I’ve covered a lot of local bands in my time back to the ‘80s and ‘90s, but I don’t think I’ve been around one that was so talent-rich, where each member credits some other member as being the MVP. It’s a nice contrast to the often rancorous CSNY, where before long each one began to think some other one was the problem.
Xenia : ``This band is a perfect environment for making great music. Everyone is an experienced professional and we all enjoy each other’s company. We can give each other feedback without having to walk on eggshells or worrying about bruising someone’s ego. Our House really gives me that perfect `supergroup’ vibe.’’
The combo has been fairly selective about gigs and venues, so the set list turns over slowly. Even a full set can’t contain all the radio hits and signature songs, and they add a few choice surprises from the solo careers so the possibilities are endless.
Teach Your Children
In doing research for the article, it was startling to me how some CSNY lyrics were a half-century ahead of current hot topics such as environmentalism in general, ocean protection in particular, immigration, reparations (Southern Man), polyamory (Triad), the list goes on. "This might be a hot take, but I don’t think CSNY needs to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a foursome,’’ says Anderson. ``Each member is already in twice. I’d much rather see them recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors. To me, that would speak more to their impact on American culture and music as a whole."
It's safe to say that cascades of vocal harmony and folk-rock aren’t highly competitive in the contemporary commercial scene where pop princesses, rap baddies and country-rock hunks often dominate. But what goes around often comes around. Thanks to Brandi Carlile, Mitchell came back from near-death to wow them at Newport in 2022. The reclusive icon was last seen hanging out at the Clive Davis Grammy party this month. And I think I’ve heard something about a Bob Dylan biopic making the rounds, shining light on Stills’ special friend Joan Baez and others.
Our House is not out to ``change the world’’ on the scale of the original supergroup, just doing their part to bring a simpler yet grander form of pop music back into the spotlight, and break down that sense of fear and loneliness a lot of us may be feeling.
``We like to think of the shows as time traveling,’’ says Kurt, ``There are moments when I’m not on lead, just listening in, and you find yourself in awe of the connection. You realize it is so not about us individually. It’s just about the whole group doing the best job we can of channeling that feeling.’’
Brianna: ``That group of songwriters knew how to sing about being human in the most human way. It makes me sad someone my age possibly not knowing these artists, so I hope my generation will pop in and fall in love with the songs that are such enduring anthems.’’
First Avenue Presents Free Fallin (The Tom Petty Concert Experience), Our House (A Tribute to Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young) and Taming the Tiger (Joni Mitchell Tribute) ★ The Fitzgerald Theater - First Avenue, Saturday, February 22. Doors at 7pm, music at 8pm.
https://www.ourhousetributecsny.net/copy-of-home
Minneapolis native Jim Meyer was a music reporter at City Pages, Star Tribune, and Sam Goody/Best Buy a century ago. He’s a willing patron of the arts but won’t turn down gig invites, free demos or story ideas at meyerforhire@yahoo.com.